Cry of Hamunaptra
by tanith2
Summary: Rick goes after gold


Disclaimers – I own no-one, though I wish I did.  
  
Summery – Rick and Jonathan go back to Humunaptra.  
  
  
  
The Call of Humanaptra  
  
"You're not going Rick, not there, no way" said Evy.  
  
She followed him into the bedroom, her hands in her pockets, wondering how she was going to stop her husband from leaving. He was throwing some things into a bag as he only had an hour before he was to meet her brother and set off on another expedition. He was angry at his wife trying to stop him from going. She had become very possessive since Ahm Shere and he didn't like it. How dare she try and tell him where he could or couldn't go.  
  
"Why not, you did, were determined as I remember. No one dared tell you not to go" he replied glaring at her.  
  
I know but that was before all those horrible things happened. That place is still evil and dangerous" she said.  
  
She felt sick, with worry and frustration. Feeling that he didn't care about her or Alex she carried on the attack as he walked downstairs.  
  
"I don't care, there is all that gold down there and I want some of it. Anyone would think I had asked you to go with me"  
  
"I wouldn't go, I think you and my brother are mad. Jonathan, I bet he has put you up to this, typical of him that would be" she said slamming the door of the bedroom and running after him.  
  
After another five minutes of shouting, he dropped his bag on the floor and turned to her.  
  
"Look, I am going. If I get that gold, the money we get for it will keep us in comfort for the rest of our lives. Why can't you be happy with that?" he shouted back.  
  
"Because no gold is worth it if you are dead Rick"  
  
Picking up his bag, he stormed out of the door and threw the bag into his yellow car. He kissed her on the cheek and climbed into the driving seat. He didn't take any notice of the shouting she was doing as he drove off, determined to do what he wanted for a change. He had spent the last ten years doing what she wanted, now it was going to be different.  
  
"Damn him and damn Hamunatra" she fumed out loud " and damn my brother"  
  
She went inside, tears streaming down her face. Knowing that one of the reasons he had gone was because of her mood swings since Ahm Shere, but she couldn't help it, she had tried. Going up to the bedroom, she threw herself on the bed in floods of tears.  
  
Rick and Jonathan had decided to go back to Hamunaptra. They wanted some of the gold that was there under the city. The place had been well dug over by Meela and the curator while they were looking for Imhotep. They hoped it would give them a good start. Taking only six men with them, whom they had promised could reap the benefits of digging through to the treasure room.  
  
"Once we dig through, you can take what you want. There is enough for a 100 people" said Rick after signing them up.  
  
He didn't trust them but he had no choice, they needed someone to help with the digging. His thoughts went back to Evy. He had treated her badly over this but she had become so annoying since they had returned from Ahm Shere, even Alex was getting fed up with her moods. But he had not told him where he was going. It was too dangerous for him.  
  
It took them about a week to get there as Rick had to stop off somewhere else first and pick up some supplies which he couldn't get in Cairo. When they arrived they found the whole place a mess. All the machinery, lights etc that had been used by Meela, were gone, just a big hole where they had dug out Imhotep.  
  
Rick had drawn a rough map of where he thought the treasure room was in relationship to how he remembered it, going form east to west.  
  
Setting up camp a little way from the city, they started the job and it wouldn't be a five minute thing either. By the looks of things it would take a few weeks to get inside the city, even with all the work that had already been done.  
  
He was right, it was three weeks before they got inside, enough to start moving the rubble that led to the treasure room.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
The Med-jai were down the south of Egypt because of some trouble with a few Nomads. These men had been terrorising some villages down there and the elders of one of the villages had sent a message to the Med-jai to help them. Ardeth bay, their commander had left a small group of four men to watch Hamunaptra. After all, Imhotep wasn't there, he was at Ahm Shere and he guessed that no-one would need to go there again. He reckoned without Rick and Jonathan and their interest in gold. He had left about three weeks before Rick and the others arrived at the city and hoped to be back within 3 months.  
  
Arriving at one of the encampments, Ardeth met with the elders and after a few days rest, they decided that these nomads would have to be dealt with more drastically than first assumed.  
  
Many of the small villages had lost men, women and children to these men. Their methods were sick and it transpired it was all over some land that they thought belonged to them.  
  
"How many do you estimate are involved?" asked Ardeth as he assembled his men.  
  
"About forty, not that many but they have a good array of weapons. They will not be easy to take without some of your men getting hurt or killed" replied the elder Mohamid.  
  
"If we had worried about that we would not have come to help you" said Masala.  
  
Ardeth spoke to his men and they rode off with the men that were left from the villages to confront the Nomads. He had been told that they were camped about five miles away.  
  
It didn't take long to find them and there were only about half of them at the camp. The rest must have been off raiding another camp. They couldn't sneak up on them so had to go in full attack. With swords and rifles raised, the Med-jai charged at the camp. The Nomads fired as they saw the Med-jai gallop towards them.  
  
For about twenty minutes the battle raged, at the end of which many had been killed or injured on both sides. This included Ardeth, who received a slash down his face from a sword and had taken a bullet to his arm.  
  
Of the Nomads, the men left had fled, probably to find the rest of their group to them what was going on. Masala ran to Ardeth's side, who was leaning against a rock holding his arm.  
  
"Are you alright Ardeth?" he asked "Let's have a look at that"  
  
"I'll be fine, it's just a scratch, look after the others" he said.  
  
He felt sick if the truth be known and the pain was quite bad. He had been shot before but it never altered the fact that the pain was always different and always seemed worse than before. Masala, checking his arm found that it was just a scratch and that the bullet had not entered his arm, just across it.  
  
Taking his sash off, he wrapped it round the wound and with the other one, made a sling out of it. Then making sure Ardeth was okay, he went over to the other men followed by their leader a few minutes later.  
  
"What do we do now?" asked one of the men.  
  
"We find the rest of them. It is obvious they don't care who they kill. They have to be stopped" replied Ardeth.  
  
"But they will be ready for us now"  
  
"And we will be ready for them" replied Ardeth, still holding his arm.  
  
Masala called Ardeth away from the other men and spoke to him alone.  
  
"Ardeth, several of the men are injured and you can't fire a rifle or use a sword with that arm. I suggest that you stay here with them and I will take the rest of the men and go after the Nomads. We can be back in two days, they won't be far away"  
  
"But I am the commander, I can't not go" he said.  
  
"My friend, you would be an open target like that. I cannot stand by and let you risk your life when I can do the job just as well. Please Ardeth, stay here"  
  
Ardeth knew Masala was doing this out of concern for him. They had been friends for many years and always watched out for each other. He knew he was right, his arm was throbbing and he still felt sick, there was no way it would be safe for him to carry on at the moment.  
  
"You're right of course. I will stay as you ask even though I am your leader. The men work well under you" said Ardeth going over to the men who were waiting. "I am staying here with the injured men, you will go with Masala and finish this job. With my arm in a sling I would only hinder the success of the mission"  
  
Masala mounted his horse and clasped Ardeths good hand as he got ready to leave.  
  
"Allah humana" said Ardeth raising his hand to them as they rode off.  
  
He walked over to where the elder tribemen were tending the injured men. Some of the others were burying the dead.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Back at Hamunaptra, Rick and the others had found the passageway that led to the treasure chamber. Rick remembered that the large stone had lowered into place as the city collapsed and would have to be removed.  
  
"The only way in, is through here. There could be other entrances but this is the only one I know about"  
  
"So how do we get through solid rock?" asked one of the men.  
  
Rick explained to them about the mechanism that had sealed the city all those years ago.  
  
"First we clear this passage. Then we place the dynamite we brought, around the stone. We'll use a long fuse and blast it. All we have to do then, is clear the rubble and we're in" replied Rick.  
  
"Isn't that dangerous down here?" asked Jonathan.  
  
"Yes but coming this far has been dangerous. If you like you can wait outside"  
  
Jonathan shook his head and carried on clearing the smaller stones. Rick was worried of course, he knew the place was unstable but blowing the rock was the only way he knew of getting through to the treasure.  
  
It took them quite a few hours to clear the passageway from rocks and sand. Once they had finished, Rick set the dynamite at different points in the gaps between the stones. Then running a long fuse to the end of the passage, they all hid round the corner as he lit it.  
  
He kept an eye on it as it travelled up the passage towards the wall of stone. Telling them to put their hands over their ears as it reached the dynamite, there was an almighty explosion. Rocks and sand fell throughout the city and raining down on everything, including them.  
  
Unbeknown to them, deep in the city, the explosion sent rocks and sand into the air outside as well. The Med-jai who were nearby, couldn't help but hear it and jumping onto their horses, raced off towards Hamunaptra, arriving just in time to see the dust starting to settle again.  
  
"Allah help us" said one as they watched "Someone is in the city"  
  
"What do we do?" asked Abdul, the older Med-jai.  
  
They just looked at the scene in front of them and then turned to Abdul.  
  
"Our commander must be informed at once of this. Abdul, you will go and find Ardeth and tell him of this situation. He will know what to do. We will, in the meantime, try and find out who is there, if they are not dead after that explosion"  
  
Abdul nodded to the other men and rode off in the direction of where Ardeth and the rest of the Med-jai would be, hopefully.  
  
"Forouk, do you know who they could be?"  
  
"I have a good idea" he replied as they reached the camp that Rick had set up and examined the tents. "Rick O'Connell. As if he hadn't had enough of this place. Now we have to find them"  
  
"But it will be too dangerous for us to go inside"  
  
"I know but they could be hurt. Hopefully they are alright, then Ardeth can deal with them when he returns"  
  
"And if they are trapped?"  
  
"Then we will have to get them out. Although we might have to wait for the others, there is no way we can rescue them on our own if they are trapped inside"  
  
The sand was still settling and it would be a while before anyone could even see where they would have to start the search.  
  
As the dust settled, Rick woke up. He had been knocked out by some of the rubble flying around. Maybe he thought, I used too much dynamite, looking around with a shocked look on his face.  
  
Four of the men were dead, one was injured, Jonathan was still unconscious and the other man seemed to be okay and was cowering in a little doorway.  
  
"Bloody hell, what did you use. You were only supposed to break the wall, not destroy the city" he said getting up and brushing the dust off himself.  
  
Then he saw the others and flew at Rick, slamming him against the wall by his throat.  
  
"My friends are dead you bastard, Pete has a broken leg by the looks of it and your brother in law looks in a bad way. All this for gold" he shouted ready to punch Rick in the face.  
  
"I know, I know. What can I say, I made a mistake. It's no good us fighting, we have to get out of here"  
  
"Yeah, but I would feel better for hitting you"  
  
He pushed him away and went to Jonathan. Kneeling beside him, he tried to bring him round but he was not responding. There was a huge injury on the back of his head which would account for all the blood beside him. His breathing sounded bad too, could have some broken ribs he thought.  
  
"Help me put this round his head to stop the bleeding Pete"  
  
"Is he bad?" asked the man still angry at Rick but concerned about the other man.  
  
"Yes he is, we have to get him and Alan out of here and quickly. Evy is going to kill me" said Rick wiping his face.  
  
"I might save her the trouble" replied Pete holding Jonathan while Rick wrapped the rag round the injury. Even he could see that the man needed urgent medical help, he could die without it.  
  
Alan bit his lip as they put his leg in a splint, made from two pieces of wood from a chest that was in the passage and had been destroyed by the blast. Then Rick looked around and all he saw was rocks, sand and what looked like no way out. But there had to be, somewhere, all they could do was choose a place to start digging. He had no idea that the explosion had been seen and heard outside.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
The Med-jai had bandaged the injuries while the other group went to find the rest of the Nomads.  
  
"You take your men and head back to your camp Ardeth" said the elder from the village. "We will finish here and then follow your men to find the rest of this gang"  
  
"Are you sure" replied Ardeth "You asked us here to help you, I don't like to leave like this"  
  
"You have helped. The rest will scatter and those that don't will be found by Masala. You are injured yourself and so are some of your men. We will come to your camp when this is over my friend"  
  
They shook hands and spoke a farewell in their language as Ardeth was helped onto his horse. It wouldn't take them long to get back, probably a week, two at the most. He hoped Masala would be alright but he needn't have worried, Masala as he knew was a good man and would be a leader of one of the tribes himself soon. They rode off towards Hamunaptra and where their camp was.  
  
They were half way back when they saw a rider coming towards them. As the rider got nearer, Ardeth saw that it was Abdul. They stopped and waited for him to reach them.  
  
"Ardeth what happened, are you alright?" he asked seeing his leader arm in a sling.  
  
"I'm fine, just sore, what's wrong Abdul, what brings you out here?"  
  
Abdul told them what had happened at the city and that he was needed.  
  
"Damn these people, can't they leave the city alone. This is Meela's doing, if she hadn't excavated the place, no-one would have known about it, it would still be buried"  
  
"Ardeth, these people already knew, we think it is Rick O'Connell"  
  
"O'Connell hasn't he had enough the last ten years. Why, why has he gone back there?"  
  
"I would assume to get the treasure, it would be easier now to get into the place, at least in some places it would" replied Abdul.  
  
They rode off as quickly as they could. The Arab commander knew that if the damage was as great as Abdul had said, then they could be trapped down there with no way of getting out by themselves or dead. His arm was really hurting now and was bleeding again.  
  
However, he made a decision, if they did get them out and they were alive, he was going to blow the place sky high. No-one would ever be able to find it again. If they rode all night, it would still take them a few days to get back. It had been a week since the explosion deep in the city.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
For nearly three days, Rick and Pete tried to remove the rubble so that they could get out but they weren't even making a dent in it. The amount of dynamite that Rick had used, had not only destroyed the wall leading to the treasure but nearly all of the city which had been totally unstable since it had disappeared into the sand all those years ago plus all the digging that Meela and her men had done.  
  
What did surprise them was the air, somewhere air was getting in but they didn't know how long it would last. They could move rubble and cause another collapse that would seal it up and prevent them from getting it. They would have to be careful.  
  
Jonathan was still unconscious and in a very bad way. He had come round briefly once but that was 2 days ago. The bleeding had stopped but the head injury was obviously causing internal problems. He seemed to be holding his own but they didn't know how long that was going to last.  
  
Alan's leg was hurting like hell but he was conscious at least. They had pulled the bones straight which had caused him to pass up and then had redone the splint. But at least it would set a bit better than if they had left it as it was.  
  
"Do you think we are going to get out of here?" asked Alan throwing more rubble out of the way.  
  
"I have no idea" replied Rick "God what a mess. For once I wish the Med-jai were around, I would welcome seeing Ardeths face for a change"  
  
They continued to pull the rubble away so that they could find a way out. Suddenly what they had hoped wasn't going to happen did. The rubble started to move by itself and they just got out of the way in time as the whole ceiling caved in. All that they had done was for nothing, there was more rubble than ever.  
  
"Jesus now what do we do?" asked Pete.  
  
"I don't know" replied Rick coughing on the dust "We start again I suppose"  
  
For the couple of hours they tried to move the stuff again but it was hard work.  
  
"Rick I think that air supply has gone, I can hardly breath"  
  
"I know, I'll check on the others"  
  
They were both unconscious, Jonathan hadn't come round at all and Alan had just passed out, either from lack of air or pain. Rick returned to where Pete was still moving the rubble.  
  
"We have to get this stuff moved, now, come on"  
  
An hour later, Rick was the only one still trying to get them out of there. Pete was out of it and he was almost unconscious. With his last ounce of strength, he pulled another stone out and then everything faded as he passed out. Time was up.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Ardeth and his men arrived back at Hamunaptra where Forouk had managed to get some local tribe to help them dig their way into the city.  
  
"How's it going?" he asked  
  
"Not very well, we are only about a quarter of the way in. It's been too long Ardeth, I think we are wasting our time"  
  
"NO, we must carry on, we have to get them out, dead or alive, alive would be better. How long has it been?"  
  
"About ten days, I think, they must be dead by now"  
  
"We have to believe that they are getting air somehow and that they are still alive. They would do the same for us"  
  
Ardeth went to one of the tents and asked someone to redo his arm. It was painful and needed a new bandage on it. Then he would go and help. Why had Rick come back, he knew the dangers or didn't he realise how unstable that place was now.  
  
Just then, two of his men came in with a local struggling against their grip on him. He was swearing and cursing as they dragged him in.  
  
"What's going on?" asked Ardeth "What has he done?"  
  
"We found this on him, it's from Seti's treasure room, he was going to sell it. What shall we do with him?"  
  
The Commander took the statuette from the mans hand and looked at it, then handing it back and telling him to keep hold of it, he grabbed the mans shoulders.  
  
"Look, you can take the gold and do what you want with it but I need to know, how did you come by it?"  
  
"Ardeth what are you doing, this man is….."  
  
"Quiet, if he has this, then he knows a way into the city. Tell me, how did you get in, we need to find our friends and quickly"  
  
"You will let me go if I tell you?" whimpered the man.  
  
"Only if you show me and are telling me the truth. If you lie to me, I will kill you personally" replied Ardeth in a whisper, his hands round the mans throat.  
  
"Okay….I…will show you"  
  
They followed the man and Ardeth prayed that the man was genuine and had found a way in that they could use. The man took them to the other side of the excavation and set in a pile of, what looked like just sand, was a hole.  
  
"Down there, there is a passage at the bottom that leads to the treasure"  
  
"Okay you go down, show us"  
  
The man didn't want to go but was persuaded that if he didn't Ardeth would kill him there and then and brought his sword out to prove his point.  
  
Ardeth had a bit of a job getting down there with his arm but with help he made it into the passage. He had to sit down for a few moments as the pain became too much.  
  
"Ardeth you should have stayed up there. Are you alright?" asked Forouk.  
  
"I'll be fine, I had to come down. Give me a minute, my arm will be fine"  
  
He fought the dizziness that threatened him but as he rested, the pain eased and standing up he got the man to take them through the passage to the treasure. From there, they should be able to find out where Rick and the others were. Hopefully not too late.  
  
The man led them through the passage and into the room where Seti's treasure was. Ardeth had been there before, many years ago and hated the place. This was the sole reason why people came to find the city, the gold. There was enough here to keep the world comfortable, everywhere you looked were statues, beds, chests for of jewels, things that only dreams were made of, were buried here deep in the city of the dead.  
  
They found a skeleton close to where a wall used to be, probably the one the men had tried to blow up to reach the gold. Ardeth guessed it must be Beni, the funny little man that had led them there all those years ago.  
  
"I would assume they are on the other side of this pile of debris, Yallah Imshee"  
  
said Forouk to the other men.  
  
They started to remove the rubble that would lead into the passage on the other side, where they hoped they would find the men. It would take them several hours, there was a lot to move.  
  
One of the men had stopped to get a drink and on the way back to help his friends, he steadied himself by touching Ardeths shoulder. He winced as the men touched it.  
  
"Sorry Ardeth, lost my footing" he said rather guiltily.  
  
His hand felt sticky and looking at it in the torch light, he saw that it was covered in blood. He went back to Ardeth, who was leaning on one of the rocks he had moved.  
  
"Ardeth, you're bleeding, let's look at that shoulder"  
  
"I'm alright, just leave it" he replied getting up to move to some smaller stuff.  
  
He had been in one position for a while and when he stood up, he lost his balance as a wave of dizziness hit him. The man who had seen he was bleeding, rushed over and helped him to sit down.  
  
"Forouk, over here now" he shouted.  
  
When Forouk came over, the man showed him the blood and said that Ardeth's wounds were bleeding again.  
  
"If you insist on being down here Ardeth, commander or not, you will stay over here and leave us to do the work. You are losing too much blood and everytime you use your arm, you are losing more. Stay here"  
  
Ardeth wanted to argue with him but he was trying hard not to be sick, the pain and lose of blood was draining his strength. He should be helping but he knew Forouk was right. He would stay there, at least for a while. The man wedged a piece of cloth under the bandage to try and stop the blood and then gave Ardeth the container of water. He would keep an eye on him, he knew what Ardeth was like, he would try and do some more if he wasn't watched.  
  
They had got about a third of the way through the rubble but it had taken them about 4 hours and they were starting to tire. Forouk told them to rest for a while and then they would start again. If they didn't they wouldn't be able to finish at all. He went over to where Ardeth was sitting, he had his eyes closed and Forouk went over to see if he was okay, at least he had stayed put. He had been annoyed that all he could do was watch them do all the work.  
  
"Ardeth, how's your shoulder now, let's have a look" he said.  
  
As he went to look to see if the bleeding had stopped, Ardeth fell into his arms unconscious. He shouted to one of the other men.  
  
"Abdul, Naseem, pull that stuff off that gold bed over there and help me get him on it. We might as well make use of this stuff"  
  
They pulled all the gold trinkets off the bed, which was in the shape of a leopard and helped Forouk carry Ardeth over and laid him on it. Beads of sweat had appeared on his face and he had a high fever.  
  
"You two, take off your outer tunics and go and get some more. We have to make him comfortable and keep him warm. Look there is a vent way up there in the ceiling, must be where the beams of sunlight came in at one time. Too high to climb out of but we can light a fire under it. Move that stuff and get one going"  
  
He took the tunics the men gave him and manoeuvring Ardeth, placed a couple under him and then with the rest, covered him up. Damn, what a mess he thought. They still had to get through to the men trapped down there and now Ardeth was in a bad way. He hoped that Masala would arrive back soon so that they would have some help.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Back in the passageway, Rick had started to come round and crawling over to Pete, he tried to wake him up but all he got was moans but nothing else. He found that Alan was dead and Jonathan very close to it. He couldn't understand how he was hanging in there, he was badly hurt, internally but he was still fighting for life.  
  
"I'm sorry Jonathan" he gasped "My fault… again…I'll get us out of here….I promise"  
  
Crawling back to the wall of rubble he started to try and move some more, but his breathing was ragged and he was fighting to breath, he had to stop. Leaning back on the rocks, he knew if they had any chance of surviving this, he had to lay still and not use up any more air than was necessary, and there was not much of that left. For the first time in his life he prayed to whoever was up there before blackness returned and he slumped to the floor.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Masala had finished the task given him and the Nomads were all dead and they were on their way back to camp. The men from the tribe were with them and they had no idea of the devastation that awaited them back at the city. As they dismounted, one of the men came running over and told him what had been going on.  
  
"Calm down, let us get a drink first, this sand has killed my throat. Now tell me everything"  
  
They all needed a drink after that journey, a sandstorm had hit them about five miles from camp and they couldn't move for about an hour.  
  
"Okay, Mohamid, you and some of your men come with me. We will go into the city from where the local found an entrance. The rest can help up here. Let's go"  
  
It took them about twenty minutes to reach the treasure room and were shocked at what they saw. Masala rushed over to where Forouk was tending Ardeth. The other men assisted the ones already down there to move the rubble.  
  
"What has happened to him?" he asked.  
  
"He wouldn't rest, his shoulder started bleeding badly and then he passed out. He has a fever and is very cold. We could have got him out of here but decided it was best not to move him"  
  
"You did right, we will only move him when absolutely necessary. I need you to go up top and get ropes and secure them to the pillars that are left up there. We will need something to lift him out and the others, if we find them. Mohamid, would you tend Ardeth while I see how the others are getting on"  
  
"Of course my friend. I will take good care of him, don't worry"  
  
Masala squeezed his shoulder as he walked over to the others moving the rubble. They were almost through now that they had some help. It wouldn't be long before they would know one way or the other, if Rick and the other men were still alive or not.  
  
"We're through" shouted one of the men who was further up the pile of debris.  
  
Masala climbed up, being careful not to dislodge any more than needed. He shone the torch into the passage beyond. For a minute he saw nothing, then he picked out Jonathan laying at the bottom of what was left of the wall.  
  
"They are in here, I can see Jonathan. RICK, RICK can you hear me?" he shouted.  
  
There was no answer so he and another man crawled through the hole they had made and carefully climbed down into the passage. Masala ran over to Jonathan and felt his pulse, it was very weak but still there. The man next to him, Alan hadn't been so lucky.  
  
"I've found Rick" shouted the other man and Masala rushed over.  
  
"Rick, can you hear me. Quick give me that water"  
  
He lifted his head and placed the water to his lips. The cool liquid revived him slowly but he was still very weak.  
  
"Take it easy, you're going to be fine. Can you stand if I help you?"  
  
"Masala….am I glad to see you, how did you find us"  
  
"All will be explained later, we have to get you out of here before this whole place collapses. Us moving all that debris has loosened the ceiling and it won't hold up for long. Come, we will get you out and then Jonathan"  
  
"What about Pete, he's over there"  
  
"Go and check on him" he told the other man but when he came back he shook his head.  
  
"Is there anyone else down here?" he asked Rick.  
  
"No the others are all dead, when I blew the wall. Where is Ardeth?"  
  
"He is here but is in a bad way. A bullet wound from a few days ago. I just hope he will be alright"  
  
Rick looked concerned at this information but Masala snapped him out of it by helping him to stand. He was very unsteady through lack of food and air but with the mans help he made it to the wall.  
  
"Send down that rope and two more men. We have a badly injured man here" he shouted up to the man watching.  
  
Rick was helped down the other side and after some more water, he let the others go back for Jonathan.  
  
"Please be careful with him, I think he is hurt inside"  
  
"Don't worry we will be careful. Go and sit down and then we will all get out of here" replied one of the Med-jai.  
  
He spotted Ardeth on the gold bed and slowly waked over to him. He could see, even in the dim light of the torches that he was very ill. He was pale, sweat covered his face and he was shivering. Mohamid greeted Rick and told him that he was trying to get his fever down but without much success.  
  
"I am sorry for causing so much trouble….again" he said taking Ardeths hand in his.  
  
It was cold and limp and feeling his pulse, that was very weak and slow, he suddenly felt remorse and guilt for what he had forced the Med-jai to do on his behalf. Although he was grateful that they had come to find him, he didn't want anything to happen to Ardeth. Mohamid guessed what was going through Ricks mind.  
  
"Rick is it? This would have happened anyway, this has nothing to do with what you have done. He was shot in a raid on some Nomads a few days ago. We thought the injury would heal fairly quickly but it has not. Stay with him, I am going back out and get a tent ready for him and your friend. Abdul, come with me please"  
  
Rick took a cloth and poured some of the water onto it and first, wiped the sweat off the mans face and then laid it on his brow. Masala came over a little while later and told him that Jonathan was out. The American grabbed his hand and shook it in thanks.  
  
"If he dies, Evy is going to kill me. Do you think he will make it?"  
  
"I don't know Rick, we can see better once we get him out of here and Ardeth, how is he?"  
  
"Very hot and shivery. Mohamid and Abdul went out to get a tent ready for them"  
  
Masala got the men to help with Jonathan and Ardeth, Rick was still too weak to do much. He needed food and rest, badly, as much as he denied it. Within half an hour they were all out of the city.  
  
All the injured men were put into separate tents, including Rick who nearly collapsed when the fresh air hit him. He was made to eat and then rest. Masala would take care of Ardeth and Jonathan.  
  
"I should help, this is all my fault after all" he said.  
  
"No, tomorrow, right now you need to rest as well. You may not be injured but you are very weak. Rest and food is all that you need, but need it you do, okay"  
  
Rick didn't answer, he was already asleep. Masala left him and checked on  
  
Jonathan. Mohamid was with Ardeth for the moment. Jonathan was badly hurt and Rick was right, he had internal injuries but they didn't know what or how to treat them. He needed to be in hospital.  
  
They were five days away from Cairo, if they took the route across the hottest part of the desert, twelve days the other way. Masala took the decision to get Jonathan to Cairo. He ordered some of the men to rig up a stretcher that could be dragged behind the horses. They had done this before and it had worked but never on such a long journey, but he had no choice. If he didn't do this, he knew that the man would die.  
  
"Forouk, I want you and some of the men to take Jonathan back to Cairo. You will have to be careful and make sure he has plenty of water, somehow. If he is left here, he will die for certain"  
  
"Of course Masala, what about Ardeth?"  
  
"I am sure he will be fine in a few days, but this man needs help urgently"  
  
Two hours later, they were on their way. Jonathan had been made as comfortable as was possible and because they weren't going to be galloping to Cairo, two of the men took it in turns to walk with him and look after him as they went.  
  
After watching them go, Masala went into the tent where Mohamid was watching Ardeth. His fever was still very high and showed no signs of breaking. He told the man to go and get some rest, he would sit with his leader.  
  
"But you need rest too" the elder said.  
  
"I will sleep in this chair if necessary, please, eat and rest. You have helped greatly this day"  
  
They bowed to each other and Mohamid went to a tent close by and without undressing, laid on the bed and fell asleep. Masala redressed the wounds on Ardeths shoulder and arm and making sure he was comfortable, he sat in the chair and watched him.  
  
He was very ill, more than he had let on to Rick or the other men. If this fever did not break soon or the wounds start to heal, he would die. They were going septic and he had no modern medicine to help. Even sending someone to Cairo for stuff would take too long, all he could do was keep him cool and yet warm, and pray to Allah that he would live.  
  
Rick slept for about fifteen hours before getting up and going to see how Jonathan and Ardeth were. He came running out of the tent when he found that Jonathan had gone.  
  
"Masala where is Jonathan?" he shouted.  
  
"Calm down Rick, he is on his way to Cairo. Some of the Med-jai took him there not long after you went to sleep. He needs medical help, that we can't give him here"  
  
"You should have woke me, I should have gone with him" he said angrily.  
  
Masala pushed him onto one of the seats by the fire and handed him a coffee.  
  
"Rick you were in no state to go. If he had been left any longer her would have died, he might anyway. But he will be better off in hospital"  
  
"But it is over twelve days ride to get there"  
  
"Five, we know a quicker route but it means going over the hottest part of the desert. Don't worry he is in good hands"  
  
Rick knew he was right, if there was any chance to save Jonathan, this was the best way. He had held his own all this time, he had to be given a chance.  
  
"How's Ardeth?"  
  
"Not good, his temperature is so high and shows no signs of breaking. I can't understand it, he's been shot before, a few days and he has been fine. But this"  
  
"Tell me what happened?" asked Rick.  
  
Masala related the events that led to Ardeths condition and what had happened in the city because of him.  
  
"I'm sorry Masala. My quest for gold has cost lives again and maybe even Ardeths. Sorry doesn't seem enough. I'm going to go and see him"  
  
"We are moving the camp about a quarter of a mile over there in a while. Then we are going to level this place. Everything, no-one will ever find it again. Will you help us?"  
  
"Tell me what you want me to do. I don't ever want to see this place again, not now"  
  
He went to see his friend. As he went in Mohamid left him alone and Rick sat down beside the man that had become a good friend over the years. Some of this was all his fault and it had to be resolved.  
  
Ardeth was moaning in his unconscious state and Rick wrung out the cloth and wiping his face, laid it on his forehead. He was very hot and yet still shivering.  
  
"Come on my friend, don't do this to me. You have to live, we have been through so much…shhh" he said as he tried calming the leader as he slept.  
  
He held Ardeths hand and wiped his face, really worried about the man laying on the bed. Masala came in and wanted to check the dressing before they moved him. As he took off the bandages, Rick could see the wounds. The one in his arm was clearing up but the one in his shoulder was deeply inflamed and pus was seeping from it.  
  
"Masala, who did you say these men were who shot Ardeth?"  
  
"A group of renegade Nomads, not really a tribe themselves, just a group of men, probably from Cairo who liked to terrorise and kill. Mostly for money. I think we got them all though, why?" he asked  
  
"Did you know any of them, their names, I mean, who were they?"  
  
"No but I think Mohamid knew some of them. But you haven't told me why you are interested"  
  
"Let me check something first, I'll be back"  
  
He went to find Mohamid and they spoke for a while before going back to the tent.  
  
"One of these men, the leader I think, was called Alaf Kapour. I knew of him in Cairo, nasty piece of work. Should have known he was involved in this. Anyway, the point is, he was from a part of India that specializes in poisons. Several men died from bullet wounds that shouldn't have done. He dipped the bullets in a poison before loading his gun. It was safe until the gun was fired and then reacted when it entered the person being shot"  
  
"You think that this is what is causing Ardeths illness, some sort of poison on the bullet. How do we find out what it is?" asked Masala.  
  
"I haven't got a clue but if we don't try something, Ardeth will die. All the others did, eventually" replied Rick running his hand across Ardeths forehead to brush the hair off his face.  
  
"Do you think he has been poisoned?" asked Masala  
  
"I don't know, I would have thought if he had, he would be dead by now. These others didn't last long" replied Mohamid "He was shot over a week ago but only collapsed yesterday"  
  
"Anyway, we have to move him, then we can see what we can do, one way or the other"  
  
Rick said he would carry him, so lifting him gently in his arms, he carried him the few hundred yards to the tent that had been put up. The others would go up later. As he laid him on the bed, he asked Masala to help him take off the robe, as it was getting damp from Ardeth's fever. Masala held him while Rick took it off. He was just about to lay him down again when he noticed something.  
  
"Hold him, I think I have found something"  
  
Looking closely at his lower back, he saw a red swollen mark which looked like a bite of some kind.  
  
"Masala, where was he when he collapsed?"  
  
"In the city, his arm was hurting and he felt sick and dizzy so we made him sit down and rest, why?"  
  
"He's been stung by what looks like a scorpion, there is a bite here"  
  
"My God, of course, the place is full of them" he replied coming to have a look "That never occurred to me. So it's not poison"  
  
"Not in the way we thought, but this has been left for nearly thirty-six hours, we have to treat it now"  
  
"We have a man with us who knows about these things" said Mohamid "I'll get him"  
  
He hurried off and Masala paced the floor, swearing in Arabic until Rick grabbed his arms to stop him.  
  
"Rick he could die and it's all my fault. Why didn't I look"  
  
"You weren't to know, he'd been shot, he was in pain. I would have assumed the same thing, that it was the wound that caused him to collapse. Look we might still be in time"  
  
The man came in and got them to turn Ardeth over so he could see the bite, then he told them to leave. He would tend him but he needed some things first.  
  
"Masala, Rick, come on, he's I good hands. Let's sort this city out"  
  
Reluctantly Rick followed them out of the tent and over to the city. Between them they had enough dynamite to destroy two cities. They positioned the dynamite all over the inside of the city and the outside, paying attention to the pillars that were left. The whole thing was wired to the outside as far away as was possible.  
  
The last thing to have dynamite attached to it, was Anubis. He didn't like doing that to this particular thing, he couldn't explain why but over the years he had realised how real these Gods were. He hoped in his heart that the Gods wouldn't be angry. He didn't tell anyone his feelings they would have thought him mad.  
  
It had taken them nearly all day to do this and they were tired when they went back to the camp. The explosion would be left till the next day, so that they could watch what happened and redo anything that was left. Rick went straight over to Ardeths tent to see how he was. He was shocked to find him sitting up, having something to drink, held by the friend of Mohamid.  
  
"Ardeth…my God, you look better than when I last saw you. What happened?"  
  
"I used a special drink made of ingredients that I carefully mixed together, managed to get it down him and you see the result. He came round within a couple of hours and will recover completely" he said.  
  
"How do you feel my friend?"  
  
"Not too bad considering. Thank you for your concern Rick"  
  
It was the first time he had ever used the name Rick, but he didn't ask why, he was just glad that Ardeth was going to be okay. Mohamid had been in and explained to Ardeth what had happened since he passed out in the city. So he knew about Jonathan and the others. He was angry with Rick but decided that he had been through enough and wouldn't mention it at the moment.  
  
"We have rigged the city to be blown to oblivion tomorrow Ardeth" said Rick "No-one will ever be able to find a solitary grain of sand that belonged to Hamunaptra"  
  
"I am glad Rick, this should have been done after Ahm Shere" he replied wincing at his shoulder as he tried to get comfortable.  
  
"You okay?" asked Rick.  
  
"Yes, but my shoulder is still painful"  
  
"You should get some rest" said the other man "You are not well yet"  
  
"We will talk tomorrow Ardeth, goodnight my friend. I am really glad you are better"  
  
"Thank you"  
  
Rick went to his tent and laid down, he was tired but so relieved that Ardeth was going to live. He could never live with himself if anything had happened to him. Even though it wasn't really his fault, if he hadn't been in the city he would never have got stung by the scorpion. He fell into a fitful sleep, thoughts of Jonathan came back and he wondered if he was dead or alive.  
  
The next day, they went over to the city and prepared for the detonation and making sure everyone was far enough away, Rick lit the main fuse. It would take about ten minutes for the first explosion to take place, then the others would follow in split second sequence.  
  
Explosion after explosion rocked the area, sand and rock were hurled into the air and the ground shook. Ardeth stood with help by his tent to watch the city disappear into the sand. They would make a better job of it than Seti ever did.  
  
A couple of hours later, the whole place had settled and as far as the eye could see was sand, nothing but sand. Not a glimmer could be seen of the city. They had done it. No-one would ever come to Hamunaptra again, it would never be found in a million years.  
  
Now that this was over, Rick decided it was time he went back to Cairo, he had to see if Jonathan was okay and face Evy, which wasn't going to be easy. He suddenly wished that Imhotep was back, he would have less hassle.  
  
"Are you sure you want to go back?" asked Ardeth.  
  
"I have to, I need to find out about Jonathan and as for Evy, well I have a feeling I might be back if she has anything to do with it. She is never going to forgive me or let me forget this, ever" he replied.  
  
"Well you are always welcome at my camp Rick. I am sorry you had to find out the hard way, again, about Hamunaptra. Goodbye my friend, may Allah go with you"  
  
"Thank you my friend, the same to you. Now take care of that shoulder and no more arguments with scorpions okay"  
  
Rick said goodbye to the others and rode off towards Cairo. Ardeth watched him go and then went back into his tent, he was still feeling weak and tired but hopefully in a few days he would be back to his normal self.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
The Med-jai who had taken Jonathan, had arrived in Cairo in one piece and he was still alive. They explained to the hospital what happened and they said they would take care of him. The men waited for what seemed like hours before the doctor came back.  
  
"How is he?" they asked.  
  
"He is going to be fine. I don't know how he survived this long without treatment but he has. He has internal injuries but somehow they have started to heal themselves. Being unconscious all that time helped I think. I came round with a bit of help but had to be operated on so is recovering now. We will keep him here till he is well enough to leave"  
  
One of the men said he would go and tell his sister and then go back to the camp to inform Ardeth and Rick. Evy was furious but very worried.  
  
"Of all the stupid things, I told them not to go. What about Rick?"  
  
"He is okay, he is back at the camp"  
  
"Oh he would be, everyone else gets killed or hurt but Rick O'Connell is alright. Well he won't be when I get hold of him and you can tell him that from me"  
  
With that she grabbed her coat and went off to the hospital to be with her brother. The man left and started his journey back to the city. He hadn't told her about Ardeth, she had enough to cope with and he would be better anyway by the time he got back" 


End file.
